Monday, December 21, 2015

Review: Enticing Violence

This is the second book in the Empyrean Chronicles and it was generously given to me in exchange for an honest review after my request to continue the series. The first story, Enchanting Revenge, was quite engaging and I needed to find out what would happen to the characters next.Synopsis from Amazon:Lily and Alec are only pawns in a war much larger than they'd imagined. Lily still wants to complete her mission: Avenge her parents. But when Lynn- the leader of the Rebels in Muircadia- is captured, and Rita- daughter to the evil Lord Nettles- is sentenced to death, it's up to Lily, Alec, and the very select few Fae they trust, to try to save them all before it's too late. When all you do is fight for your life, how do you find time to live? How do you love when hope is always slipping away?

As I said in my review of the first book in the series, I often find it to be a turn off when a fantasy novel goes overboard. In many fantasy novels, I become bored with the extreme attention given to world building. I find however, that Theresa Jones makes the story the main focus and that's why I read a book. Of course we learn about setting and history as the story moves forward but it isn't explained in pages and pages of intricate details. Enticing Violence is a fast moving adventure with stops along the way to appreciate the scenery and learn more about this new realm that Lily is still adjusting to.

The story is hard to put down. The pacing is fast as the characters desperately search for their friend. There is quite a bit of violence (hence the title) and fighting and some really creative characters, my favorite being the White Stag, who was not only written beautifully but could become invisible and travel to different places in seconds. I loved how it spoke to Lily telepathically. Lily and Alec are still the main focus and I also like how the author didn't follow the typical romance path of putting the couple together just to rip them apart over and over again. While they certainly had a few bumps in the road, they stayed strong for the most part and weren't separated for long periods of time. I liked the show of power they demonstrated together.

I'm not sure how many books are planned for the series but I will definitely keep reading them. Lily is on a mission and will eventually take her rightful place on the throne. I look forward to seeing how it all plays through and what final path each character chooses to take.